In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss the resignation of luggage brand Away’s CEO, Steph Korey, amid allegations of employee mistreatment. We analyze the critical role leadership plays in a company’s success, and present a few takeaways that retailers can learn from the Away incident. First, be open and honest with your employees, but also be reasonable. There are going to be times when you’re going to need your employees to go above and beyond, and people understand that. However, don’t create an environment where excessive work hours are the norm, not the exception. Second, learn from your mistakes. Just like everyone else, CEO's make mistakes. Korey admitted that in her resignation; however, this one episode doesn’t have to define her career. Own your mistake, be contrite for it, then move on, ensuring that you don’t make the same mistake again.

For more content on how to become a better leader, check out Total Retail’s sister brand, Women in Retail Leadership Circle.